Foodie and the Beast - Oct. 28, 2018

Hosted by David and Nycci Nellis.
On today's show:
* Between 1939 and 2015, Montgomery County lost 71 percent of its farmland. That loss was slowed in 1980, when citizens, farmers, politicians, and planners created the Montgomery County Agricultural Reserve, recognizing the value of land set aside for the environment, farming, history, and community. Claudia Kousoulas and Ellen Letourneau are in to discuss "Bread and Beauty: A Year in Montgomery County's Agricultural Reserve;"
* Mission Navy Yard, the enormous bar and restaurant, is now open across from Nats Park.
Fritz Brogan and chef Roberto Hernandez are in with tastes and talk of Mission Navy Yard;
* According to the National Restaurant Association, African-Americans make up only 8% of restaurant owners and the same share of restaurant managers. So rhe industry, the community and patrons across the board need a wake-up call: from Nov. 4 to 11, D.C. celebrates Black Restaurant Week and, with it, the city's top talent in food and drink.
In with us today for a roundtable discussion are:
o Two of the event's three cofounders; (1) Dr. Erinn D. Tucker, director of Georgetown University's global hospitality leadership master's program; and (2) Chef Furard Tate, who provides training, mentoring, and teaches job skills;
o Meggrolls founder and food truck entrepreneur Meghan Baroody. Meggrolls was named a Top 25 Food Truck in Washingtonian Magazine's Ultimate Food Truck Guide in 2014, was featured in Southern Living Magazine as offering "some of the South's most Inventive meals" and voted "Best Food Truck" this past summer in Northern Virginia Magazine.
o Grey Goose Ambassador Earlecia Richelle. Living and working in New York City, she developed a distinct conceptual style, fusing culture, history, and cocktails to open new avenues of communication and creative expression.
* And then there's our drinks segment. Eric Kozlik is a D.C.-based cocktail entrepreneur, educator, and podcaster. He is the CEO of the Modern Bar Cart, a cocktail platform helping home bartenders and industry pros make better drinks. And... he's gonna make some for us!

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Past Episodes

Hosted by David and Nycci Nellis.
On today's show;
* I Ricchi is D.C.'s legendary, award-winning, nowhere-does real-Italian-food-better restaurant. Its equally legendary chef/owner, Christianne Ricchi, is in today to talk about where the restaurant is headed into its fourth decade and about what it talks to remain true to "la vera cucina italiana;"
* Bettina Stern is the co-founder of Chaia, a seasonal vegetable taco company that gives customers fresh, flavorful plant-based ingredients. Stern and her business partner Suzanne Simon brought their unique restaurant concept to Washington D.C.'s farmers markets, where it instantly created long lines. Within weeks of their debut, Chaia was selected by the Washington Post "as one of D.C.'s top nine up-and-coming tastemakers." Now Chaia has two brick-and-mortar locations in D.C. - the new one is in Chinatown;
* The Sally restaurant opened at The Fairfax at Embassy Row hotel in December 2018. The Sally's chef is French-trained Ricrado Planas, who most recently served as chef de cuisine at the Cafe du Parc at The Willard Intercontinental Hotel;
* Black Betty vodka, Picaroon rum... famous spirits are coming out of Blackwater Distilling. Its regional head of sales, Vince Tyson, and brand ambassador, Jamie Imhof, are in to tell us more and to serve some up.

Hosted by David and Nycci Nellis.
On today's show;
* Jill Erber of Ballston's Cheesetique, which is the go-to neighborhood spot for fine cheeses, food-friendly wine, and an eclectic, cheese-centred menu.
* Sukey Jamison and her husband, John, own and operate Jamison Farm and Jamison Packing in Latrobe, Pennsylvania. The Jamisons' farm produces some 3,000 lambs annually, which are destined for great cooks at home and the finest chefs and restaurants in the world. And they are authors! Their new book, "Coyotes in the Pasture and Wolves at the Door," is filled with stories taking you from their farm to your table.
* Danya Degen is the sommelier at Little Pearl. Liv Caillabet is GM of Toki Underground. The two friends share an appreciation of lesser known reasonably priced wines, especially those that can be paired with ramen and dumplings. So, they created Common Cru, a monthly food and drink series at Toki Underground.
* Located in an historic warehouse on Georgetown's canal, Dyllan's Raw Bar Grill is a dining out gem. Owners Donald and Amy Carlin have a great story to tell, along with great foods to serve.
* Claude Thiebot , Thibaut-Janisson Winery partner, is in with a fabulous selection of Virginia sparkling wines.

Hosted by David and Nycci Nellis.
On today's show;
As Homer Simpson famously says, "uhmmm...donuts!" Nothing's better. That's why we've invited Greg Menna in for tastes and talk of District Doughnuts, which just opened its fourth location at Union Market.
* Guess who's back? Every year, Greek chef Aglaia Kremezi comes to D.C. to work with Chef Michael Costa and the Zaytinya team. As Zaytinya's chef partner and "Greek grandmother," (also known by the Greek term "yia-yia)" they cook, taste and talk about authentic flavors and traditions that inform the restaurant's menu.
* Bloomingdale's woman-owned Tyber Creek offers seasonal food and a curated wine program. Chef/owner Jordan Stahl is in to tell about this neighborhood restaurant success story.
* Shouk's modern Israeli street food has taken Downtown D.C. by storm and has just introduced a plant-based shawarma made entirely from oyster mushrooms. Co-cofounder Dennis Friedman is in to give us a taste.
And Guinness has opened a brewery (and more!) in Baltimore, and head brewer Hollie Stephenson is in with the 411 on the new Guinness Blonde.

Hosted by David and Nycci Nellis.
On today's show;
* You know his great restaurant in Shaw, Kyrisan. Now Tim Ma has a new place to add to it, American Son in the Eaton hotel. Chef Tim is in with tastes and talk of his latest masterpiece.
* Art Ehrens is an award winning writer, producer and director. Now add "author." His first children's book is called "Sweet Potato Pete and the Green Garden Gang."
* Chinese New Year is around the corner and The Source is one of D.C.'s great go-to restaurants for Chinese New Year's celebrations. That's why we have the restaurant's Chef Russell Smith and Assistant General Manager and Beverage Director Drew Brandwein to tell us what they have planned.
* Last October, the Neighborhood Restaurant Group's Evening Star Café welcomed a new executive chef, Jonathan Till. He has brought a new take on food to that venerable neighborhood gem.
* Lance Mion is the new executive chef and drink lead enthusiast at The Canopy by Hilton in North Bethesda. Chef Mion is responsible for all food and drink operations. The cocktail menu is his, too, so he's making some of his creations for us.

Hosted by David and Nycci Nellis.
--
January 26 is International Sous Vide Day. This precision cooking
technique ensures exact temperature control. It used to be offered by only
the finest of fine dining restaurants, but now has
gone mainstream. (Even Starbucks now sells sous vide eggs !)
That's largely due to the efforts of Cuisine Solutions, the global authority on sous
Vide.
Joining us today are Cuisine
Solutions Chief Strategy Officer Gerard Bertholon, the executive
chef at Cuisine Solutions' Culinary Research and Education Academy, A.J. Schaller and
chefs Delian DiPietro and Kai Park.

Hosted by David and Nycci Nellis.
On today's show:
--
* Mauricio Fraga-Rosenfeld has closed Matè and opened Susheria, a "casual-glam" sushi restaurant, with a modern Latin influence.
* Sheeeeee's baaack! Dorie Greenspan, the James Beard Award-winning author of "Dorie's Cookies" and "Baking:From My Home to Yours," is with us today celebrating the release of her thirteenth cookbook, "Everyday Dorie: The Way I Cook."
* When it comes to cocktails and peak hospitality, D.C.'S Derek Brown is the man with the Midas touch. And, from a new book coming out next spring to very cool pop-up products and more, he has a ton of stuff going on that you'll want to know.
* Ellen and Todd Gray are D.C. institutions. He's the Rammy "Chef of the Year" award-winning talent behind the success of their restaurants, like Equinox, Milk & Honey and Manna. She's a powerhouse idea person who comes up with some of the city's best and most special, things to do. A case in point: gingerbread-making classes, for would-be cookie and gingerbread house bakers.
In with the gingerbread update and all the deets is sous chef Darnell Thomas and, because gingerbread tastes so good with coffee, Darnell has brought along Manna's/Milk & Honey's head barista and bevereage director Trey Smith .
* Last, but never least, we always like to imbibe while imparting important info, so we invited the District Winery's Conor McCormack, and he's brought some of the Winery's best suggestions for enjoying great wines during the holiday season

Hosted by David and Nycci Nellis.
On today's show:
--
* Kathleen Overman is director of connection with CUREATE, a mission-driven firm with products and services for connecting large and small businesses and the cities they serve. This holiday season they're partnering with the Ritz-Carlton in Pentagon City to help them source products from D.C.-area entrepreneurs for their inaugural Shop Local holiday pop-up shop.
* James Majewski of Hugh and Crye is here. He and his team there have finally solved men's problems with ill-fitting off-the-rack shirts with a unique sizing system, based on the height and build of the torso, to give guys a better fit.
* D.C. jewelry designer Sophie Blake creates timeless jewelry for the modern woman. Her SBNY collections explore the fine line between classic and contemporary, creating iconic looks that are inspired by everything from Cubist art and techniques to 1930s Art Deco. Sophie's in today with some spectacular one-of-a-kind gift items to share with us.
* Liam LaCivita is the executive chef at Suzy and Bill Menard's Via Umbria in Georgetown. He's in with great linens, wines, ceramics and, of course, food gift items, all imported from Italy's fabulous Umbrian region.
* You met Scott Harris almost 10 years ago right here on "Foodie and the Beast," when he had just opened Catoctin Creek Distillers, the first in Loudoun County since Prohibition. That was then and this is now, and the award-winning Catoctin Creek is distributed across the region and further and is on everyone's list of top-drawer spirits.

Today on Foodie and the Beast was a classic, filled with amazing eats, cocktails ...CHAMPAGNE! ... and, what else, beauty tips (go figure!). Joining us were:
* Two extremely talented guys from the French Embassy - Chef Mark Courseille and GM Max Jacquet - they run Le Café Descartes, Au Petit Bouchon and catering at ... the French Embassy here in DC. Yup, a fine dining restaurant, a café and soup-to-nuts catering, all available at an embassy. It's the only deal like it in DC and ... the food is amazing.
* Return guest, Chef Peter Prime of Spark at Engine Company 12 in Bloomingdale and a true master of Trinidadian-inspired cuisine. The menu has wowed reviewers, including the Post's Tom Seitsema and just recently landed spark a coveted spot on the Michelin Bib Gourmand list. Chef Peter came in with delish bites and a special announcement you won't want to miss!
* Rachel Mulcahy, proprietor of Ivy Wild, a clean beauty boutique in D.C., was in to discuss the world of clean, high-performance skincare and cosmetics for a high- performance life.
* Last, but hardly least, mixology master Jacob Weinstein, GM at Anna Bran Leis' Taqueria Del Barrio, mixed up some signature cocktails that were eye-poppingly pretty and went down with a bang!
Tune in! We had fun! You will , too!
Also, special thanks, again, to the sponsors of our blowout, 11/11/18, 2-hour live, 10th Anniversary remote from NRG's Bluejacket: Neighborhood Restaurant Group; Bluejacket; Profish/Ivy City Smokehouse; Knightsbridge Restaurant Group; Jamie Leeds Restaurant Group; CHI-KO; RW Restaurant Group; 3 Stars Brewing; the Market at River Falls; the Trigger Agency and Passion Food Hospitality

Foodie and the Beast celebrated 10th anniversary on Federal News Network's airwaves with a live, 2-hour remote broadcast from Neighborhood Restaurant Group's Bluejacket, DC's most amazing brewery/restaurant/bar. Hosts David and Nycci Nellis welcomed scores of guests ? from restaurateurs and chefs to distillers and mixologists, and many more.